Out Of The Darkness
by xstormqueenx
Summary: After banishing Morgan Le Fay to the Beyond, Clara tries to put the past behind her, but when she and her fellow LITs end up in a haunted house, all hell literally breaks loose. {And The Heart Of Darkness, AU}.
1. On It Like A Car Bonnet

**Author's Note:** This is the sequel to _Reap The Whirlwind._ The reading order so far for all of my Flynn/Clara fiction is: _And She Was Not An Adventure, Plato's Step-Daughter, A Christmas Clara, Sure As Sin, Once Upon A Dime,_ _Reap The Whirlwind,_ and _Out Of The Darkness_. Each new Flynn/Clara story will include an updated reading order. All my Librarians fiction can be found under the 'My Stories' section of my profile. Videos for characters canon and original, can be found on my Youtube channel via the link on my profile.

* * *

 **On It Like A Car Bonnet**

"You okay, Clara?" Eve asked, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror.

"I'm fine," Clara said curtly, pretending to become interested in a passing tree.

Eve and Jacob exchanged looks, Eve then returning her attention back to the road, Jacob's to his fingernails, brow furrowing. Ever since the science fair, Clara had become oddly introspective on occasion, easily distracted. To all intents, she was as she ever was; only those close to her sensed the difference in her. Flynn noticed this change, but pretended to pay no heed to it, sheltering his own secrets, not wanting her to know he knew when she didn't. But he kept away from Jenkins, an old friend becoming foe, one who'd deceived him even as he deceived Clara, lying to protect the ones he loved.

"Fancy a rousing rendition of 'The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round?' " Ezekiel suggested to Clara, making her roll her eyes.

"We're in an automobile," she reminded him.

"I wish we were living la vida loca on a locomotive," Cassandra said wistfully.

"I don't," Jacob said from the front seat.

"Why not?" Cassandra said curious.

"I'm frightened of trains," Jacob admitted reluctantly. "They remind me too much of snakes."

"Jeeps versus jalopies," Clara said cryptically.

"High-five me, Hartley," Jacob said, twisting in his seat.

"Why?" she said, snub nose wrinkling.

"Cos I say so," Jacob grinned at her.

Clara just shook her head, before high-fiving him.

"You're so immature," Ezekiel said, pulling out his Game Boy.

"Says the bloke who still sleeps with a teddy bear," Clara said, elbowing him in the side.

"And wears Action Man pyjamas," Cassandra added, fist-bumping Clara.

"That's the last time I'm ever inviting you two to a sleep-over," Ezekiel snapped, the tips of his ears turning tomato.

"Why wasn't I invited?" Jacob said, brow furrowing further.

Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds like my kind of sleepover," Jacob said under his breath, glancing at Clara.

"Enough of that," Eve said, clipping him round the head.

"It wasn't that kind of sleepover," Cassandra said coldly. "We stayed up to watch the sunrise, then loafed about eating fairycakes Ezekiel had stolen from his next door neighbour, the dearest little old lady you ever saw" -

\- "Sounds scintillating," Eve interjected, rolling her eyes.

"Very Marie Antoinette," Jacob added, winking at Clara.

"You just don't understand my lifestyle," Ezekiel protested.

"Keep it down, kids," Eve said, putting her foot down, quite literally.

Before Ezekiel could frame an appropriate retort, a blood-covered girl ran out in front of them, forcing Eve to brake to a sudden stop, throwing them all forwards in their seats.

"Just another typical day in the office, then," Clara gasped, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

* * *

Clara leaned against the Jeep, careful to keep her distance from the bloodstained girl, who'd they now discovered to be called Kate. After calming her down, they'd managed to get some kind of coherant story from Kate; that she and her friends had been hiking, taking shelter in the house the Jeep was now parked in front of, some sort of mad-man attacking them, Kate being the only one who'd managed to escape. To Clara, the story sounded highly suspect, but the others were taking no chances, making preparations to investigate.

"Okay, a blood-covered teenage girl in the forest and a maniac in an abandoned house - who votes we all head back to Prague and find that lovely blonde bird I left in that nightclub?" Ezekiel said, raising his hand.

"Shut up, Zeke," Eve hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"Here, drink this," Jacob said hastily, handing Kate a bottle of water, glaring at Ezekiel as he did.

"At least we found the broken ley-lines we were looking for," Cassandra said, waving her hand over the map spread across the Jeep bonnet, making it come to life. "Don't look at it," she warned them, "multi-dimensional maps are a nightmare to navigate, not to mention the nose-bleeds," she finished, delicately dabbing at her bleeding nostrils with one of Clara's lace-trimmed hankies.

"I want to look though," Ezekiel whined.

"Not unless you can do the math to sort out the magic layers," Cassandra said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Eve asked, concerned. "Is it the tumour?"

"It's always the tumour," Cassandra said smartly.

"You okay, Hartley?" Eve then fired at Clara for the umpteenth time.

"Fine and dandy," Clara forced smiled.

"The vertices used to be static," Cassandra continued, "now they're... wavy."

"Math-Girl is doing one of her loopy-loops," Ezekiel muttered mutinously.

"Hey," Jacob admonished him. "Can it, kid."

"Can what?" Ezekiel retorted. "Beans? Canaries?"

"Are we casing this joint or what?" Jacob said impatiently, glaring at Ezekiel again.

"We are indeed," Eve said sarcastically.

"It's just an unfortunate co-incidence that our abandoned house and broken ley-lines all exist in the same place," Clara said, straightening up.

"What, you think it's a trap?" Eve said, glancing at Kate.

Clara just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, let's hit the Screaming Shack then," Ezekiel said, setting forth.

* * *

"I hate that kind of co-incidence," Jenkins commiserated over the phone to Clara, "and broken ley-lines are never good. With the return of magic to the world, they're even more dangerous - if you don't anchor them, they can build up enough charge and explode all over Slovakia."

"Well, we're on it like a car bonnet," Clara said, watching as Eve paced the living room floor, head bowed, crowbar held behind her back, "just like they say in Essex."

"Has anybody died in this house?" Jenkins asked, making Clara wince.

"I don't know," she said uneasily, glancing at Kate, who looked ready to run at the slightest provocation. "Why?"

"Broken ley-lines means wild magic," he said, admiring his profile in a passing mirror, "so you may be looking at a haunting, with angry spirits mixing with wild magic from the broken ley-lines and not good," he said, coming to an abrupt end, realising he was repeating himself.

"Not good," Clara echoed, confused.

Eve mimed cutting the call, making Clara pull a face.

"I have to go," she said, smoothing down the front of her duffel coat.

"Well, be careful," Jenkins said dourly, "and keep safe. Get... get Carsen to give me a call, okay? He hasn't checked in for a while."

"Alright," Clara agreed, before ending the call. "Happy?" she said to Eve, who was now brandishing a second crowbar, deliberating over whom to give it to, Clara or Cassandra.

"Okay, you take this," Eve said, thrusting the crowbar into Clara's hand, "and you take Kate," she said to Cassandra, who did a double-take.

"Excuse me?" Cassandra squeaked. "You're putting me on baby-sitting duties?"

"You did the thing with the map as well," Eve said weakly.

"You can't keep leaving me behind," Cassandra argued, becoming angry. "That's the thirteenth time you've done this."

"Unlucky thirteen," Ezekiel interrupted.

"Somebody has to hold the fort," Eve pointed out, doing a Jacob and glaring at Ezekiel.

"But why does it always have to be me?" Cassandra retorted. "Why can't Clara cat-sit?"

"What, do you want me to toss a coin?" Eve snapped. After the STEM science fair, Clara hadn't been the only one to change, the dynamics of the group changing as well, Cassandra's health beginning to impact on their activities. Whenever possible, Eve would leave Cassandra behind, always torn between doing the same to Clara, her vagueness worrying Eve as much as Cassandra's tumour. But Clara was fit and healthy, when Cassandra wasn't, forcing Eve to make the obvious choice, much to Cassandra's vocal annoyance.

"Why don't I just stay behind instead?" Ezekiel chirped. "That'd be a nice middle ground to reach."

"Can it, kid," Jacob repeated.

"What's the plan?" Clara interjected hastily, glancing at Kate, who kept glancing at the door.

Before Eve could reply, the sound of heavy footsteps overhead made them all start violently, Clara grabbing Kate's arm, stopping her from doing a runner.

"Well, there's our answer," Ezekiel said, his heart sinking in his chest.

 _Do I have to break down to break through?_ _  
_ _Get lost to get where I need to_ _  
_ _Is this really what I agreed to?_ _  
_ _Right now, nothing's clear_ _  
_ _And I just know I don't want to be here…_


	2. Keep Off The Grass

**Keep Off The Grass**

"What the hell is a 19th century American frontier house doing in the middle of a Slovakian forest?" Jacob hissed at Clara as they crept up the staircase.

"Search me," Clara said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't tempt me," Jacob half joked.

"I _am_ carrying a crowbar," Clara sing-songed.

"And the murdering ghost can hear you," Eve sing-songed sarcastically over her shoulder.

"You got those magic anchor things?" Ezekiel suddenly asked Clara, startling her.

"No, you have them," she said, exchanging a glance with Jacob.

" _I_ have them," Eve said, slowing to a stop. The others followed her example, glancing around the hallway, the peeling wallpaper and scarred floorboards doing nothing to improve their expectations. As they did, Eve knelt down, carefully unfurling the scroll-shaped anchor in a discreet corner, Jacob giving her the thumbs-up. "South's been set," she whispered, watching it glow blue for a moment before fading.

"Over here," Ezekiel hissed, Eve throwing the other anchor over. He set it down, watching it glow blue as well. "North's now secured," he mouthed, getting to his feet.

Eve gave him the thumbs-up, echoing Jacob. "Okay," she then said quietly, "we split up, check all the rooms on this floor, and then reconvene here. Savvy?"

They all nodded, reluctantly separating, Clara finding herself in a back bedroom, the sight of its filthy curtains making her shudder à la Flora Poste. She turned on the spot, a picture on the far wall catching her eye, something about it drawing her attention despite herself. She drifted over to it, tilting her head to the side as she studied it. It was a photograph of a family standing in front of the house she was in, their faces ripped out of existence.

" _Okay_ ," Clara breathed, "not freaking out. Only the colour pink can do that."

She then glanced down, only to see several rows of shoes, all different styles and sizes, the irregular neatness of the lines making her swallow hard. Backing away, she whirled around as a closet door creaked open slightly, revealing a gap that seemed to promise all sorts of horrors lay beyond its borders. Exhaling sharply, Clara forced herself forwards, raising her crowbar as she moved. On the count of three, she grabbed the door handle, flinging the door wide, only to reveal nothing but an empty closet.

"Get a grip, Gwen," Clara muttered to herself, before doing a double-take at her words. But before she could fathom her mistake, she heard Jacob hiss, _Hartley, where are you_!? only for his voice to be drowned out by a piercing scream, Clara throwing herself against the wall as three teenagers suddenly materialised in front of her, a girl and two boys, one of the boys lying bleeding on the ground, the other two cowering beside him, the girl screaming as a large shadowy figure advanced on them. And then they were gone, leaving only empty space, Clara running out into the hall, right into Jacob's arms.

"What the hell, Hartley!?" he exclaimed, dragging her away from the doorway. "You okay!?"

"Would you all stop asking that!?" Clara almost screeched, yanking herself out of his grip.

"What's going on!?' Eve demanded, skidding to a halt beside them, Ezekiel hard on her heels. "What's with the rumpus!?"

"I saw it," Clara gasped, the tears springing to her eyes.

"The ghost!?" Ezekiel said, grabbing her arm.

Clara nodded, grabbing his arm in turn.

"Wait, these dimensions are wrong," Jacob said suddenly, turning wildly on the spot. "This hallway extends beyond the house!"

"We should leave, troops," Ezekiel said backing away.

Just then, a knife came flying out of the darkness, embedding itself in the wall just above Clara's ear.

"This is a sign, Sheilas!" Ezekiel yelled, hauling Clara away. "Keep off the bloody grass!"

* * *

"Can anchoring the ley-lines in a haunted house jump-start the ghosts?" Clara fired at Jenkins down the phone, making everyone wince.

"You know Hartley, you have a rare knack for turning a bad situation into a worst case scenario," Jenkins said, perusing some Peruvian pamphlets.

"I just nearly got turned into a human kebab," Clara snapped, "so forgive me for being a little negative."

"Turn that frown upside-down," Jenkins trilled, "you're affecting my Feng-Shui."

"I'll Feng-Shui you" -

\- "Jenkins," Eve said hastily, snatching the phone from Clara, "we're a little on edge right now. Please soothe us, and not with some opera and hot cocoa."

"But that's my magic remedy," Jenkins protested. "There's nothing that can't be solved with a little Pavarotti" -

\- "No opera!" Eve bellowed. "Now soothe us!"

"You've successfully anchored the ley-lines," Jenkins said, sighing heavily. "Does that cheer my little darlings up?"

"So there'll be no magical cataclysm?" Eve said hopefully.

"Huzzahhhhhh!"

"The _house_ , Jenkins," Eve reminded him.

"What house?" he said, taking a sip of red wine.

"The haunted house we happen to be in," Eve said from between gritted teeth. "Will there be a magical cataclysm?"

"Ah, yes, the house," Jenkins said uneasily, "well... have you ever heard the story of the house of the haunted hill?"

"Where a group of paranormal investigators die in madness and terror?" Eve nervously supplied, making everybody's heads snap round.

"Or the psychotic killer slays a whole sorority?" Jenkins added, nibbling on a custard cream.

"But they're all stories, urban legends," Eve said, rolling her eyes, making everybody's shoulder slump with relief.

"They're different stories set in the same house," Jenkins said, eying a chocolate biscuit thoughtfully, "and you're standing in it."

* * *

 _Don't know what's down this road, I'm just walking_ _  
_ _Trying to see through the rain coming down_ _  
_ _Even though I'm not the only one_ _  
_ _Who feels the way I do…_

"We're standing where?" Clara screeched down the phone, Eve taking a seat on the sofa, Ezekiel burying his face in his hands, Jacob pacing the carpet, almost wearing a hole in it. Cassandra and Kate were by the window, the former looking bored, the latter terrified.

"According to the Heisserer index," Jenkins intoned, unperturbed, "there are six mystery houses."

"But you said to Eve there was just the one!?" Clara exclaimed, face-palming herself.

"There's the Urdobe," Jenkins reeled off, ignoring her outburst, "the Dionaea house, the Shadowbox, the Final Rest, the House of Refuge and then there's the Soul Cage. I think you've stumbled either onto the Box or just possibly the Cage. You know, there's some argument about the methodology" -

\- "Jenkins!"

"Alright, alright," he said, shaking his head at his beloved stuffed dromedary, the dromedary rolling its eyes in sympathetic understanding. "The House of Refuge is described as benign, even helpful," he continued, picking up a music box, "and the Final Rest was destroyed in 1350" - He paused, tilting his head to the side. "You're in the Shadowbox," he said, sounding strangely triumphant.

"Aren't you the clever-clogs," Clara said cruelly.

"Salute!" Jenkins exclaimed suddenly. "You're the first Librarians to set foot in the place. You see, it has a tendency to move around, making encountering it very rare indeed."

"What do you mean it moves around?"

"It appears somewhere, goes shopping for some victims before moving on," Jenkins said, examining his eyeteeth. "Men, women, boys, girls, whole families, but ironically, no sororities."

"Oh, I'll sleep easy tonight now," Clara said, sitting down beside Eve, "thank you, Jenkins."

"You're welcome," Jenkins beamed.

"It moves onto where though?" Clara then pressed, fighting the urge to flee.

"The next dining location I imagine," Jenkins said, striking a noble pose in front of a full-length mirror. "Oh, you're so regal," he murmured, tilting his chin to the side.

"So what do we do?" Clara asked, at the end of her tether now.

"Well, it's been feeding off people for well over a century now," Jenkins said, frowning, "in fact, the first confirmed sighting dates back to 1883 when a woman named Abigail Muntz" -

\- "I don't need the whole real estate ad from hell!" Clara exploded, making everyone jump. "Now tell me what to do!"

"You can't do anything," Jenkins said bluntly, "once the house selects its victims, it's game over."

"We're not trapped in Ezekiel's Game Boy," Clara snapped, "we're stuck inside a house, so tell me how to get out of it!"

"Walk out the front door then!" Jenkins retorted. "Roll out the red carpet while you're at it!"

"Tell me or I'll break your best tea-set," Clara threatened.

"All you can do is find the dark heart of the house," Jenkins said hastily, backtracking like nobody's business, "and destroy it."

"Where is this dark heart?" Clara said, burying her face in Eve's shoulder, all but giving up.

"It could be anything," Jenkins said, "a vase, a rug" -

\- "This isn't Changing Rooms, Jenkins!" Clara bellowed. "Do I look like Laurence Llewellyn Brown to you!?"

"From the side maybe" -

\- " _Jenkins_ " -

\- "It could be a mouse" -

"Ahhhh!" Clara screamed, almost tearing her hair out.

"You only have till midnight," Jenkins managed to say before Clara cut him off.


	3. Mr Hammer-Time

**Mr. Hammer-Time**

 _I've been a lot of lonely places  
I've never been on the outside…_

"There's no monster in the house," Cassandra said, more bored than ever, "but the house is the monster?"

Clara nodded, gripping her phone for dear life.

"And we only have until midnight to find its dark heart and destroy it?" Jacob said, rolling up his sleeves.

"And you said life was boring," Ezekiel fired at Clara.

"No, I didn't," she protested.

"Yeah, you did."

"They're dead, aren't they?" Kate burst out, startling them all. "I killed them!" She collapsed onto her knees, breaking down into noisy sobs, making the others wince.

"The house killed them," Eve said, annoyed. " _If_ it killed them," she amended hastily, "we don't even know if they're dead."

"It was my idea to come here," Kate wept, grabbing her head between her hands, digging her fingers into her long tangled brown hair. "I thought it would be cool to check it out!"

"Famous last words," Cassandra breathed.

"Okay," Eve said, shaking her head. "Have anyone else seen anything weird?"

"I found a hatchet caked in blood," Jacob suggested with a shrug of his shoulder.

"I saw the pram from _Rosemary's Baby_ ," Ezekiel supplied.

"Ha-ha," Clara said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously, it's up there," Ezekiel retorted, put out.

"Why don't we just feed Zeke to the house?" Clara said, turning to Eve. "Then all our problems would be solved in one swoop!'

"It would just barf him up again," Jacob said, earning himself a punch on the arm from Ezekiel.

"Would you all just get a grip?" Eve spat. "We can wing this, we always do."

"There _is_ a monster in this house," Kate suddenly snapped, startling everyone. "You seen it!" she yelled, pointing at Clara.

"The shadow man?" Clara said nervously, edging behind Jacob.

"I thought that was just an illusion," Eve said, frowning. "A trick the house was playing on us."

"No, he's real," Kate started to sob, rocking back and forth, "he - he - has a hammer or a hatchet" -

Everyone but Kate turned to Jacob, who exhaled sharply, readying himself for what lay ahead. "Okay, it's Mr. Hammer-Time," he breathed, taking Clara's hand in his.


	4. Tales From The Dark Side

**Tales From The Dark-Side**

"Where the hell is it!?" Jacob snapped, rifling through the rubbish. "It was right here!"

"Is that it over there?" Clara said, pointing to a hatchet in the far corner.

"How _did_ it get over there?" he echoed, going over to it.

"Search me," Clara said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You really have to stop saying that," Jacob reluctantly grinned, reaching for the hatchet, only for it to fade like smoke. "Okay, was not expecting that," he said, backing away from it.

"Ezekiel," Clara called out into the corridor, "you might want to check this out. Freaky Friday seems to be happening in here." All she got for her answer was a flash of red light. She and Jacob glanced at each other before taking off, throwing themselves through the doorway and into the hall, before diving into the bedroom Ezekiel had been searching. But the room was resolutely empty apart from a dolls house in the middle of the floor.

"Oh no," Jacob said, slumping against the wall, staring at the dolls house like it was Satan.

"What is it?" Clara said, bewildered.

"Jones is gone," he said, rumpling up his hair.

"Define gone," Clara said, confused.

"I saw this in an episode of _Tales From The Dark-Side_ ," Jacob said, exhaling sharply.

"Saw what?"

"He's in the dolls house," Jacob said, gesturing wildly to it.

Clara face-palmed herself for what felt like the thousandth time.

"I know," Jacob said, drawing her to him. "I _know_."

"Why does he keep getting sucked into inanimate objects!?" Clara demanded, beginning to crack. "Is he trying to tell me something!? That he'd be happier inside a wardrobe than the real world!?"

"I vote we burn this damn place down!" Jacob said, booting the wall.

"No, no, no," Clara said, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, "that's not the answer."

"No, it's not," Kate snapped, appearing in the doorway, Eve and Cassandra at her elbows, "my friends are still in here!"

"So's ours!" Clara snapped back, rounding on the girl.

"Then why do you want to burn the place down!?" Kate sobbed, the tears now beginning to flow again.

"It was my idea, okay!?" Jacob interjected angrily. "So leave Clara out of it!"

"Alright, calm down," Eve said, stepping inbetween them. "We're all... a little strung out," she said, glancing round them all, only to frown. "Where's Jones?" she asked, turning wildly on the spot.

Jacob just pointed at the dolls house.

Eve just stood there, not getting it, only for her face to suddenly clear, making her take a sudden step back.

"I know," Jacob said, shaking his head, "I _know_."

 _Everything that I tell you, girl, every word that you hear_ _  
_ _Every little whisper, let me make myself clear_ _  
_ _There ain't no lies to deceive you…_


	5. Sugar And Spice

**Sugar And Spice**

"Okay, we're one Librarian down," Eve said, pacing the floor. "But that's okay, it's okay."

"It is?" Cassandra said, confused.

"No, it isn't," Eve snapped.

"Yeah, Ezekiel's trapped in a dolls house and life is wonderful," Clara sing-songed, before suddenly rounding on Eve. "So what do we do, Guardian?" she spat. "Any plans up that tailored sleeve of yours?"

"At least I'm not whinging _please don't leave me_ ," Eve retorted, confusing Clara.

"Stop bitchin', okay?" Jacob said, giving Clara a reproving glance. "We need to focus."

"We need to find my friends!" Kate wailed.

"And we will," Eve said hastily, "but Stone's right, we need to concentrate," she said to the others. "This is a combat scenario - hostile theater, hidden enemy, stealth attacks. There's - there's a pattern" -

An old fashioned gramophone started playing, the strains of long forgotten music filling the room, making everyone whirl around. As the record went round, its handle being cranked by an invisible hand, Clara struggled to make out the words being sung in a whiny child's voice, only for the sentences to separate, becoming suddenly clear. _What are little girls made of, what are little girls made of, sugar and spice, and all things nice..._

"Okay, that wasn't there before," Cassandra said, backing away.

"Definitely not there before," Jacob agreed, brandishing his crowbar at it.

"Where's the dolls house?" Eve asked suddenly, glancing around, trying and failing to find it.

"It's gone," Cassandra said, picking up a poker. "It's goddamn gone!"

"God, I'm so sick of this house!" Clara snapped, suddenly rushing the gramophone. Before Jacob could stop her, she grabbed its handle, only for a flash of light to explode, flinging Clara aside like a rag doll.

"Hartley!" Jacob yelled, running over to her.

"I'm alright, I'm alright," Clara said blearily, staggering to her feet, Jacob helping her.

"I've got you, kid," he said quietly, holding her close to him. "I've got you."

Clara just nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Get away from the wall!" Eve suddenly bellowed, springing forwards, hauling them away. As they whirled around, it was just in time to see Kate's name being burned on the wall above their heads, the flames fading into oblivion.

"Me?" Kate whispered, backing away. "It wants _me?_ "

"Not on my watch," Eve said, turning round to face her.

"What do we do then?" Jacob asked, still not letting go of Clara.

"Cassandra, I want you to take Kate back to Jenkins in the Annex," Eve ordered, Cassandra instantly rebelling.

"No, I want to stay and help Ezekiel," she argued, waving her poker like a wand, "we're Team Library, remember?"

"We are not a team," Eve said, "you are the Librarians, I am the Guardian, and Kate is a civilian, and I am ordering you to do your duty – to carry out your promise to protect the innocent by getting Kate the hell out of this house, savvy?"

"You're not sending Stone away," Cassandra said coldly, "or cute Clara, even though she's away with the fairies half the time."

"No, I'm not," Clara flared up.

"Yeah, you are," Cassandra said, "but out of the two of us, when Eve's dithering over who to send home to Momma, she always picks me over you because of the brain grape."

"I'm not weak," Clara snapped.

"Yeah, you are," Cassandra repeated, "but I'm weaker."

Clara just stared at her, wrongfooted.

"Fine, I'll go," Cassandra said, turning to Eve, "I know when I'm not wanted."

"You're not needed," Eve corrected her. "Your skills don't apply here."

"Oh, I forgot," Cassandra said, holding her finger to her mouth, "I'm Math-Girl, only fit for fits of loopiness and reading maps." And then she was gone, Kate trailing at her heels, head bowed.

 _Madness, madness, they call it madness_ _  
_ _Madness, madness, they call it madness_ _  
_ _I'm about to explain_ _  
_ _A-That someone is losing their brain…_


	6. I Was Never Here

**I Was Never Here**

 _We were sitting and waiting_ _  
_ _And I told you my plan_ _  
_ _You were far too busy writing_ _  
_ _Rhymes that didn't scan…_

"I'm not vacant," Clara was arguing with Eve, Jacob pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, caught in the middle.

"You're almost as vacant as this house," Eve countered.

Clara just shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"It's like you're not here, Clara," Eve said tiredly. "Your body's here, but your soul's somewhere else sometimes. Ever since the STEM fair - all I'm saying is, something's changed, and it's worrying."

"I'm fine," Clara said from between gritted teeth. Before Eve could say anything, the sound of screams from outside filled the room, making everybody rush over to the window. "Jesus Christ!" Clara gasped, clutching the windowsill for support at the sight of the shadow man standing atop the Jeep, smashing the windscreen with the hatchet Jacob had found, shards of glass exploding everywhere.

"Where did Cassie and Kate go!?" Jacob demanded, craning his neck.

"They're - they're gone," Eve said, backing away from the window.

"But they were running to the house," Clara said in disbelief. "They were right there on the path" -

\- "They're gone!" Eve yelled, silencing her.

"No, they're not," Jacob snarled, stalking out into the hall, the others following him, only to find themselves in a back bedroom.

"I was here before," Clara said, turning on the spot.

"Where you saw the shadow man and the kids?" Jacob asked, raising his crowbar.

Clara nodded, glancing around, only to see Eve was gone.

"Eve?" Jacob called, only to recieve a bang as his answer. "Come on," Jacob said, signalling Clara forwards. As they moved, reality seemed to ripple, and then Eve was there, knocking on the wall, engrossed in her task. But as the floorboards creaked under their feet, Eve whirled around, aiming her gun at their heads. "What the hell!?" Jacob exclaimed, almost dropping his crowbar.

"That's the third time you've done that," Eve snapped, lowering her gun.

"What?" Jacob said, confused.

"Where did the shoes go?" Clara said, glancing down.

"What shoes?" Eve spat.

"There were rows of shoes here," Clara said, frowning.

"You really want something to shoot, don't you?" Jacob suddenly said to Eve, grinning despite everything.

" _God_ , I want something to shoot," Eve snarled in agreement. Suddenly there was screams from downstairs, Cassandra and Kate shouting for the others, thuds and bangs puncuating their cries. "Stay here!" Eve ordered, taking off, raising her gun as she moved.

"Jake," Clara said slowly.

"What is it, sweetheart?" he said, turning around, only to freeze at the sight of the dolls house in the middle of the floor. But Clara was nowhere to be seen, only empty space where she stood. "Clara?" he yelled. "Clara!?" And then there was a flash of red light, his crowbar clattering to the floor, the only trace he'd ever been there.


	7. Welcome To The House Of Fun

**Welcome To The House Of Fun**

 _Welcome to the House of Fun_ _  
_ _Now I've come of age_ _  
_ _Welcome to the House of Fun_ _  
_ _Welcome to the lion's den_ _  
_ _Temptation's on his way…_

"Hey."

Clara whirled around, only to see Ezekiel sitting in an armchair in front of a huge flatscreen television, playing some sort of video-game. She opened her mouth to speak, only to find that she couldn't, shock paralysing her.

" _Yeahhh_ ," Ezekiel said, "it takes a second to process."

"But - but this is the dolls house," Clara said, knowing but not quite understanding.

"Still trying to get your head round that one?" Ezekiel said sympathetically.

"Jake said" -

\- "Oh, Jake worked it out right off the bat," Ezekiel said, glancing at the screen, "but you were a little slow to catch on. Still are."

Before Clara could say anything else, Jacob suddenly appeared beside her, looking shellshocked.

"Nice of you to drop by, buddy," Ezekiel beamed.

"What the" -

\- "hell?" Ezekiel finished for him. "It's not too bad. No draughts or anything. Plus there's electricity and running water."

"This isn't the Playboy Mansion, Zeke," Clara flared up, "so stop singing this palisade's praises!"

"Wye'regh inth a dollsth houseth," Jacob garbled, swaying on the spot.

"Hey, don't freak out on me, man," Ezekiel said impatiently, "you were the one that had this whole thing figured out."

"Buth we'reg" -

\- "Your reputation is on the line so can it," Ezekiel admonished.

"Didn't you panic just a teeny tiny bit?" Clara said sarcastically, grabbing Jacob's arm to stop him from falling over.

"I did, until I heard Jacob saying I was in the dolls house," Ezekiel said, shrugging his shoulders, "and after that, I was okay."

"Jacob's manly tones reassure you, then?" Clara spat, struggling to keep Jacob upright.

"Like a comfort blanket," Ezekiel grinned, making Clara smile despite herself. Then a shadow suddenly passed the window, casting the room into darkness, Clara leaving Jacob swaying uncertainly on the spot as she rushed over to the window, yanking back the curtains. "It's Eve!" she yelled over her shoulder at Ezekiel, but he just shrugged his own shoulders, having seen and done it all before. "Eve!" Clara bellowed, banging the plastic glass with her fists, only to reel back as a massive blue eye appeared on the other side.

"Arghhhhhhh!" Jacob screamed, doing a crazy little dance.

"I've tried that," Ezekiel said to Clara, "screaming included," he aimed at Jacob, "but they can't hear us, even as we hear them."

Clara just kicked the wall à la Jacob.

"Fancy a samosa, anyone?" Ezekiel said, proffering a plate.


	8. Video Games

**Video Games**

 _Open up a beer_ _  
_ _And you say, "Get over here_ _  
_ _And play a video game…"_

As Jacob started trying to escape the loving embrace of the dolls house, rattling the door handles, only to find they were all locked, Clara paced the floor, trying and failing to come up with a plan. As for Ezekiel, he just sat in his armchair, calmly stuffing himself with samosas. Two earbursting gunshots suddenly rocked the room, making all three of them double over, clamping their hands over their ears, Ezekiel scattering samosas to the wind.

"This house is trying to kill us!" Jacob yelled.

"Which one!?" Clara yelled back.

"Turn the volume down, guys," Ezekiel said, lowering his hands. "Show's over, normal viewing has been resumed." To Clara's confusion, the overturned plate and scattered samosas had all disappeared. "Oh, watch this," Ezekiel said, noticing her confounded face, "you'll love this little parlour trick." He held out his hand, rather like he was holding an imaginary cup. "A pint of beer," he said to the air, only to frown as nothing happened. "Sorry, left hand," he amended, only for a pint of beer to materialise out of thin air. "Now don't tell me that's not bloody fantastic!" Ezekiel beamed, taking a sip.

"So that's what you've been doing all this time," Jacob spat, striding over to Ezekiel, "drinking beer and playing videogames!?"

"And samosas," Ezekiel reminded him, "don't forget about the samosas."

"But how?" Clara said, even more confused.

"I just got bored of staring at those damn pictures," Ezekiel said, jerking his head at the far wall, "and boom, I was living in the lap of luxury, complete with X Box One."

"Why didn't you wish yourself out of here?" Clara said, folding her arms across her chest.

"And what pictures?" Jacob said, confused.

" _Those_ pictures," Clara said, doing a double-take at the wall.

"This is a page from the Book of Bright Stars. This is Abdurrahman Sufi. He made this. I mean, t-t-t-t-this has been lost since 960 A.D," Jacob stuttered.

"I'll take your word for it," Ezekiel said, rolling his eyes. "You suss out the story yet?"

"The house is in every picture," Clara said slowly.

"This is art from the Crusades," Jacob said in even greater disbelief.

"The house changes to fit the period of history it's in," Clara said, suddenly understanding.

"But the real house is a 19th century American frontier house," Jacob reminded her, brow furrowing.

"The way I see it, we've got the whole thing wrong," Ezekiel said, now showing off a foam moustache, "we've got the whole _house_ wrong."

"Where did Eve go?" Clara said suddenly.

"And do you hear screaming?" Jacob said, frowning.

"It's sort of tinny," Ezekiel said, cupping his ear with his hand. "Like little mice singing."

"The shadow man," Clara breathed, before burying her face in her hands, on the edge of giving up.

"Uh, Clara, you're fading," Jacob pointed out, swaying strangely on the spot again.

"Oh," Clara said, glancing down at herself, only to see she was see-through.

"Nice look," Ezekiel said, raising his glass to her, and then she was gone.


	9. Choose Your Own Adventure

**Choose Your Own Adventure**

Clara blinked, the bright light blinding her. Somebody grabbed her arm, hauling her forwards, screaming at her to _come on!_ Feeling like she was in one of those books where you chose your own adventure, Clara yanked herself free, only to find herself face to face with Kate, surrounded by trees and sunlight. For a moment, they just stared at each other, Clara becoming struck by the strange feeling this wasn't supposed to happen, that she wasn't meant to be here.

"We have to go!" Kate screamed, nearly deafening Clara.

"Where are Eve and Cassandra?" Clara demanded, grabbing Kate by the shoulders, forcing her to focus.

"The - the shadow man," Kate stuttered, glancing with terror at the house behind them. As she spoke, two gunshots rung out, making Clara start violently. "We have to go!" Kate screamed again, shaking from head to foot now.

Clara hesitated, debating with herself. The house wanted Kate, and Clara's first duty, as Eve had told Cassandra, was to protect the innocent, and that involved Clara taking Kate to the Annex as Eve had instructed. But then she thought of Jacob and Ezekiel trapped in the dolls house, of Eve and Cassandra fighting for their lives, and she realised then and there she couldn't leave, Kate or not. "I have to help my friends," Clara said, backing away from Kate. "You go, just get out. Stick to the road - it'll lead you to the next town, you'll be safe there."

"No, we can both go," Kate almost sobbed, "the car's right there! We can make it to Tex Arkana, the fort's there and soldiers" -

\- "The Jeep's wrecked," Clara said, cutting across her, "and Tex Arkana? This is Slovakia."

Kate frowned, confused. "But Jessie, this is Nevada," she said, turning wildly on the spot.

"Whose Jessie?" Clara said, advancing on Kate, all her misgivings rising to the surface once and for all.

"Jessie was Scotland," Kate said, turning around, "and you're Clara, Little Miss. Suspicious, who should be kicking up daisies by now. Did you not get the hint with the knife or was it too subtle for you?"

"The knife missed, as you can see," Clara said, choking down her fear.

"A lot of things missed you," Kate smiled. "But I won't."

Clara swallowed hard, remembering Ezekiel saying as though from far away, _we've got the whole house wrong_. "This is all you, isn't it?" she said quietly, finally justified.

"And they said you were away with the fairies," Kate tsk-tsked. "You knew right from the beginning something wasn't right, whilst they blundered in where angels literally fear to tread."

"What part comes next then?" Clara snapped. "The crying or the begging?"

Kate just shrugged her shoulders. "Your choice," she said, not really caring.

"We choose," Clara said almost in a monotone.

"What?" Kate said, genuinely startled.

Clara shook her head, feeling dazed.

"I think this is the part where you run," Kate prompted, recovering herself. As her eyes turned white, Clara turned and ran, hell on her heels.

 _I know this world is turning but I can't keep my feet on the floor_ _  
_ _Sometimes the air is burning and I hear a knock on someone else's door…_


	10. Born To Die

**Born To Die**

 _Feet don't fail me now_  
 _Take me to the finish line_  
 _Oh my heart it breaks every step that I take…_

"Ashes, ashes, they all fall down," Kate sang, following Clara into the house, "she'll be driving six white horses when she comes, she'll be driving six white horses when she comes..."

"Eve!" Clara yelled, throwing herself through the living room doorway. "Eve!" But there was nobody there, only broken furniture and torn curtains fluttering in the faint breeze. As Clara made to leave, her foot hit something. Glancing down, she saw Eve's gun lying on the floor. Hearing Kate singing, the sound drawing closer and closer, she hastily snatched up the gun, before making for the doorway opposite, only to find herself in the upstairs hall, having completely bypassed the stairs.

But when she blinked, she was back downstairs, standing in the kitchen doorway, just out of sight, watching Kate drag a body up the stairs, singing in a low voice, _what are little girls made of, sugar and spice, and all things nice..._ The world seemed to tip sideways as Clara caught sight of the black brogues disappearing out of sight, matching the ones on her feet.

Clamping her hand over her mouth, Clara backed away into the kitchen, fighting the thought the fight was over, that she was already dead, trapped in purgatory. When she turned around, it was only to find herself in the back bedroom again, the walls filled with pictures, people alive inside their frames, trying to tell Clara something she couldn't hear.

"So now you know," Kate said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Know what?" Clara said, raising her gun.

"My family, they killed a lot of people," Kate said quietly. "Some for the money, mostly for the fun. But then you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Gwen?"

Clara just stared at her, Kate's words making sense and nonsense.

"But people caught on," Kate said, circling Clara, "and we got real desperate. But then like magic, we found a house in the middle of nowhere. My family never knew how special it was. Not one of them heard this house whispering. But I did."

Clara turned wildly on the spot, trying to keep Kate in range of the gun.

"Do you need help, Katie?" Kate asked herself. "Why yes, magic house, I surely do," she replied, glancing up at the ceiling. "Wishes." Her voice echoed oddly in the gloom, her words existing even as they faded. "Hey, are you listening up there!" she yelled into the darkness. "This is a magic house and it's _mine_. It only talks to me."

"It was trying to warn me," Clara breathed, remembering the flashback she witnessed. "The House of Refuge," she said suddenly, recalling what Jenkins had said. "This is the House of Refuge," she repeated, whirling on Kate.

Kate just looked blankly at her.

"You were offering us refuge," Clara said to the walls, "in the dolls house. It was shelter. The samosas, the beer, the video games. You made the knife miss; the incident with the gramophone, you saved me then - you've been trying to save us ever since we first set foot in this house," she said, realising the truth too late. A picture appeared on the wall, the picture Clara had seen earlier, the one with the faces ripped out, only to see it was whole, showing a row of faces, Kate amongst them, dressed in an old fashioned pinafore.

"I know this house hates me," Kate said dully as the gramophone started to play again, the crackling strains of music nearly drowning out her voice. "You think it doesn't try this every time? It tries to warn people, people like you. But I made a wish and it has to give me what I asked for. Every time, until I'm done, and I'll never be done."

Clara's answer was to shoot the gramophone silent, making Kate pull out the knife from before. "Who's the shadow man?" Clara yelled up at the ceiling. "Who is he?" But before the house could answer her, Kate suddenly lunged at her, the knife raised above her head. Reacting on instinct, Clara pulled the trigger, reeling back as Kate's blood exploded across the front of her duffle coat. As Kate collapsed to the ground, Clara fled for the door, feeling like she was going to throw up, only for the shadow man to materialize in front of her, blocking her path.

"You're so _stupid_ ," Kate hissed, staggering to her feet, Clara whirling round, caught between them, "don't you know what I wished for? Don't you know what this house has made me?"

"You're the dark heart," Clara said, finally understanding the last part of the puzzle.

"I'm death," Kate whispered, raising her knife.

With shaking hands, Clara raised the gun again, aiming it as Kate's head, only for it fade from her fingers.

"Your bullets are worthless," Kate snapped, circling her, "but your blood isn't. Blue blood, the best there is. I want to taste it on my tongue." She suddenly lunged at Clara again, the knife flashing in the faint light, the blade slashing Clara's arm, making her scream, Kate cackling, enjoying her agony.

"Please help me," Clara begged the walls through her pain. "Help me save them."

"It can't hear you," Kate smirked. "It doesn't want to. It only listens to me."

For a long moment, Clara just stood there, almost like she was listening to the silence. Then she smiled brokenly, tears shimmering in her eyes. "You think you're death," she said, her voice cracking, "but I was seventeen when they killed me. My death is right here," she said, thumping her chest, "I see her face every time I look in the mirror" - She whirled around at the sound of footsteps, only to find herself facing herself, the other Clara clutching the hatchet from before. "It was me all along," Clara whispered, then turning to Kate, "not you."

"But you're not you," the other Clara said, making Clara whirl around again, "you're caught between Clara and Guinevere."

"Then who are you?" Clara demanded, backing away from her.

"Your third self," Clara said, tilting her head to the side, "your dark heart."

"I'm _Clara_ ," Clara spat.

"Jenkins tried to crush me out of existence," the other Clara said, swinging the hatchet to and fro, "but all I did was hide here, waiting for you to come home."

Clara closed her eyes, trying to make sense of her existence. There was Clara, Guinevere and all that lay inbetween, the best of dark and bright. She remembered what she'd forgotten; only wanting to forget again. Everybody only saw what they wanted to see, Eve and the others their Clara; Flynn his Hartley, Dulaque his lost Guinevere. But Jenkins had seen all sides to her, their last conversations during the chaos of the STEM science fair shifting between her three selves, Jenkins strangely seeming to know which one she was. But she was only what they made her, what they chose. "We choose," Clara whispered, opening her eyes, "but _I_ choose." The hatchet appeared in her hand, dripping with blood, a destiny already decided.

"No," the other Clara and Kate said simultaneously.

"You killed me," Clara said, advancing on them, "it's my blood on your hatchet, my body you dragged up the stairs, but it was _me_ all along."

"I'm the angel of death!" Kate screamed.

"You're not the angel of death," Clara whispered, "I know what death looks like, and she doesn't look like you, she looks like _me!_ " She slashed the hatchet across the other Clara's heart, making her stagger back, her existence crumbling into ash, the hatchet slipping from her fading fingers. As Kate lunged at Clara, Clara threw herself to the floor, snatching up the other hatchet, before turning and plunging them both into Kate's chest, Kate freezing, her eyes growing wide with shock.

"You killed me," Kate said in disbelief, her body beginning to turn to dust.

"We were already dead," Clara said brokenly, the darkness rushing to claim her, drowning the world with darkness.


	11. Lost And Found

**Lost And Found**

 _Lost but now I am found  
I can see but once I was blind  
I was so confused as a little child  
Tried to take what I could get  
Scared that I couldn't find  
All the answers…_

When Clara woke up, it was only to find herself lying on a bed, birdsong filling the air, sunlight streaming through the window. She lay there, the house presenting the past to her, rewriting her story. It understood, even as she didn't, that she wasn't strong enough to bear the burden of her being. Clara wasn't ready to remember what she already knew yet. Each time she'd tried to, the Library had conspired to make her forget, using others as its instruments. But the time would come when the veil would be lifted, Clara finally facing herself.

For a moment, Clara remembered the half finished tapestry in Circe's domain, the crown and the sword, the rest waiting to be woven into existence, and then the memory was fading from her fingers, becoming embers in eternity. She sat up, shielding her eyes with her arm, her gaze falling upon the dolls house opposite, seeing the envelope attached to its roof. Setting the hatchet down, she got up off the bed, before making her way over to the dolls house, picking up the envelope, carefully extracting the note inside. In slanting black letters, _thank you_ , had been written, making the tears well up in Clara's eyes.

Tilting her head to the side, she heard what sounded like mice singing, only to realise it was Cassandra, Jacob and Ezekiel arguing. Rolling her eyes, she set the envelope down on the table, before circling the dolls house, wondering how she was going to do this.

"All I'm saying is why aren't we considering our options?" Ezekiel challenged.

"What are our options, Jones!?" Jacob exclaimed in disbelief.

"That this house is the Star Trek transporter," Ezekiel explained, "if Clara can fade to freedom, so can we! We could go anywhere in space or time. It - it could be the TARDIS! Think about it mate, we could own the stock markets," he said, gesticulating wildly, "you could date whoever it is backward country people think are hot. This place is a gravy train."

Jacob just shook his head, throwing his hands up in surrender, all but waving the white flag.

"You can't stay here, Zeke," Cassandra said slowly, glancing over at Eve sitting on the sofa, face buried in her hands. After fleeing the shadow man, Cassandra had stumbled and fallen in the garden, only to find herself inside the dolls house, Ezekiel helping her to her feet before passing her a beer. As for Eve, she didn't quite know what had happened to her, only understanding that she was trapped in hell.

"Colonel Baird, _Eve_ , if I may," Ezekiel said, following Cassandra's glance, before sitting down beside Eve on the sofa, "I've never asked for anything in my life. Please, let me have this."

" _Why?_ " Eve breathed, Ezekiel failing to read the danger signs.

"It grants wishes," Ezekiel said, all but saying duh.

"You know what I wish for right now!?" Eve snapped, standing up. "That you'd shut that big mouth of yours!"

"The house doesn't grant wishes," Clara said quietly, appearing out of nowhere, "it helps people in need."

They just stared at her, stunned.

"It's the House of Refuge," Clara explained, "not the Shadowbox."

"So can we keep it?" Ezekiel said hopefully.

"No," Clara said, rolling her eyes.

 _ **The End**_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone that read, reviewed, followed and favourited this story, particularly **Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967**. The sequel, _And Into The Light,_ can be found under the 'My Stories' section of my profile.


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